1913: Troubles continue in Trinidad coal strike

by peter strescino
the pueblo chieftain

Published: November 18, 2013;Last modified: December 18, 2013 05:00PM

Not only were segments of the Colorado government at odds with each other as they tried to deal with the coal strike in the southern fields of the state, but strikers were getting on each others’ nerves and state militiamen were often the targets of criticism of regular Army troops stationed in the area, said The Pueblo Chieftain the week of Nov. 17, 1913.

The Colorado Supreme Court ordered state auditor Roady Kenehan to sign for the payment of the Colorado militia when they were mobilized to try to stop the violence spreading over the area. Kenehan had refused until, he said, he saw the bill for the effort. Gov. Elias Ammons had gone to the court to get the auditor to sign off the payments and that body agreed with Ammons. Kenehan said he’d pay and then later in the week said he would not pay until he saw the court order.

Closer to the field, U.S. Army Pvt. Edward Conrad, who was with the Trinidad recruiting office, was arrested in a civil matter but the paper said that he and other regular troops were critical and talked openly about the failings of the militiamen. Apparently, the martial law order, which became official that week, included criticism being leveled against the state.

The next day, Tuesday, the paper said the Army was trying to “intimidate” The Chieftain’s reporters in the area.

In Pueblo on Thursday, C.H. Newfield, editor of the Denver Express paper tightly aligned with the United Mine Workers of America, said that reporting in two of the city’s dailies, The Chieftain and the Star Journal, had been slanted toward the mine companies. “Journalism by subsidy,” Newell called the reporting. He aroused the crowd by naming the editors of those two papers and then said, “Every morning, they rise and turn to the East to pray, ‘Oh John D. (Rockefeller, owner of CF&I and its properties) give us our daily opinion.’ ”

But tensions were high everywhere. In the Pictou camp on Monday, striking miners brawled among themselves over an argument.

All that was talk. On Friday, Baldwin-Felz Agency Detective G.W. Belding was shot in the head from point-blank range and died on a Trinidad street. Belding had been working against coal strikes in West Virginia and was a feared and hated man. He was, according to the paper, the 14th person to die in the troubles since the early September walkout. And, echoing Newfield’s sentiments, as the paper listed each dead miner, guard and bystander, subtly adding that the strikers were responsible for each death.

Louis Zancannelli a “Greek” miner who upon arraignment became Zankanelli and an “Italian,” was arrested for killing Belding. When captured, Zankanelli had a union card and a Eagles Lodge membership card on him.

There were riots and some shooting all week long in the affected areas. No hope seemed to be the prevailing mood, even when President Woodrow Wilson spoke with both Colorado senators and then sent his labor secretary to meet with Ammons.

Big news in Pueblo was the reading of John A. Thatcher’s will. The pioneer and businessman left half of his $3 million estate to his wife, Margaret. He left all his shares in Colorado National Bank to his son, Raymond C.C. Thatcher. He left the equivalent amount of the bank shares in cash to each of his other two children. The late Robert Lyttle received $10,000 and the co-executor of the Thatcher estate, A.S. Booth, got $5,000. At the time, the average American worker earned about $1,300 a year.

The word Ludlow had a dangerous and ominous feel in 1913, and it wasn’t just because of the striker’s camp that was constantly under fire from the state. The Ludlow sisters-in-law sounded pretty dangerous and ominous, too.

The paper described a “jar” between the two sisters in nothing but law. Seems Carrie Ludlow was in front of her home when her in-laws, Lizzie and John Ludlow, pulled up in front of the farmhouse and Lizzie began berating Carrie about spreading gossip about her. Carrie said she felt threatened, and then pulled Lizzie from the car and proceeded to beat her until Lizzie called “uncle” (this was a family fight, after all). Carrie was arrested for assault after Lizzie drove to the DA.

The next day, when Carrie was making her first court appearance, it was revealed that upon leaving her sister-in-law, Lizzie threw husband John from the car and filed divorce proceedings against him while filing assault charges against Carrie. It was not the first time those Ludlows had filed for divorce, the paper said.

Carrie’s explanation of the incident was succinct, as recorded by a Chieftain reporter. She told the court: “(Lizzie) screamed at me and I waded into her, beating her until she had enough.”

Pueblo fireman James McGann was in trouble, accused of stealing a gun, $85 and a watch while fighting a blaze at the Goodman store on South Union Avenue.

The City Commission ruled that all cafes and restaurants had to secure and display health certificates from the health department within 30 days.

HE NAILED THE MEX, was a Chieftain headline on Wednesday. Manuel Gonzales was accused of buying a hat for $2.50 at Taub Bros. clothing on Union and then swiping a $5 hat. Clerk M. Rozich ran Gonzales down and held him for police, but the paper reported that week that Gonzales’ case was dismissed because of a lack of evidence.

Finally, The Empress Theater was changing its name to the Princess Theater and abandoning Vaudeville acts for moving pictures.